Germany I still love you

Here's me rocking my mom wardrobe while running errands today.  Sophie still has jet lag and she's up between the hours of 3:00 and 7:00.  I can't even begin to explain how awful that is.  I woke up at 11:30 when the mailman rang the doorbell.  We'd already missed out on 4 out of 8 measly hours of sunlight and I'm not too happy about it.  Lemons into lemonade though, right?  I decided that even though it was wet everyone needed a walk.  All my time in the US I think I was out doors a total of an hour.   While I was enjoying being out in the fresh, damp German country air I started thinking about how great it felt to be home and mentally making a list of all the things I love in Germany that I'd miss if I moved back to the States. 

Speaking of damp air, look what it did to my hair. It was curly by the time we got home.

I love how I can do all my errands without a car and walk the dog at the same time.  We spend a lot of time our of doors even in Winter.  I think walking is great exercise.  After we stopped at the supermarket, drug store and pharmacy I took Redgie and Sophie to visit the ducks by the lake.  I could tell the poor things were hungry by the way they crowded us.  The path by the lake has lights so you can walk there even after dark.  Being outside again felt great.

Another thing that's great about Germany is the food.  Not the food you eat in restaurants, but the way Europeans cook and eat out way less than Americans.  I thought I missed take out but after eating it for three straight weeks I was more than done.  I felt pickled in salt and generally unhealthy by the time my visit was over.  It's really easy to make unhealthy choices because there is so much convenience food. I ate more fruits, vegetables and whole grains in the first few days I was back in Germany that I did the entire time I was in the US. 

Germany also has way better baby food.  I was surprised to find that not all baby food in the US is organic and some of it is really, really gross.  I'm not sure what manufacturers do to sweet potatoes to give them the consistency of gelatin but whatever it is it can not be healthy.  Once I opened a cup of strawberry applesauce and was shocked at how strongly it smelled of artificial flavors.  Sophie wouldn't touch it.  Even her brightly package fruit smoothies from the drug store in Germany are 100% fruit with no added flavors, sugar or salt. 

 

I think our lifestyle in Germany is healthier than my lifestyle used to be in the US.  If only it were possible for me to work in my field and go to grad school I might want to stay here for the rest of my life.  It's so good to be home.  Germany I love you!  I missed you!

A few of my favorite things...